Former Habs forward Desharnais heading to the KHL
MONTREAL Former Canadiens forward David Desharnais will continue his playing career next season in the Kontinental Hockey League.
Louis Jean of TVA Sports reported Tuesday on Twitter that Desharnais will play for Yaroslavl Lokomotiv, where he will join former NHLer Max Talbot.
Desharnais played 71 games with the New York Rangers this season, scoring six goals and adding 22 assists for 28 points, along with a minus-22. In 524 career NHL games, the 31-year-old Desharnais posted 87-195-282 totals.
The five-foot-seven, 180-pound Desharnais was never selected at the NHL draft, but broke into the league with the Canadiens during the 2009-10 season. The Canadiens traded him to the Edmonton Oilers on Feb. 28, 2017, in exchange for defenceman Brandon Davidson. Desharnais signed with the Rangers as a free agent last summer.
When the Rangers played the Canadiens at the Bell Centre in February this year, Desharnais said he wasn’t sure what the future held for him, but he wanted to keep playing until age 35. When asked if he would consider playing in Europe, he responded: “Of course.”
Desharnais added it was tough being traded from the Canadiens. “It was really hard,” he said. “Playing for Montreal was my dream. I played here for seven seasons, so it was hard. But I needed that change for my career.
“Obviously, I’m proud of what I accomplished.”